I was unaware that the injury to his shoulder was still bothering. Supposedly, he still has suffered from some lingering soreness.

I know people hate to hear it, but Vick is a really fragile player. He did make it through last season relatively healthy, but it was the first since his last year in college (not counting his rookie season in which he didn't play enough to get hurt) that he did so.

People called Chandler, "Chris Chandelier," but Vick too is frail. The only difference is that Chandler often missed time due to concussions. Vick is missing time with sore shoulders, bum ankles, etc.

I'm adamant in that he won't be able to shake the injury bug until he puts on more muscle. I'm also very aware that is very unlikely to occur because then he'll lose some speed and quickness. Which IMO is stupid, because even if he lost a lot of speed, he'd still be faster than 18-20 other players out there on the field.

I don't think he needs to bulk up to 240 pounds or anything, but if he can keep his playing well at or around 225, then I think he'd be fine in the strength category. I look at McNabb, who has put on about 15 pounds since entering the league, and you haven't heard much of anything in terms of injury coming his way, with exception to 2002.

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Falcons quarterback Mike Vick underwent an MRI on Wednesday. The stated purpose of the procedure was to give the team's new medical staff a chance to get an update on the status of an injury Vick suffered in a game against Carolina last season. The Falcons claim that Vick is fine (except for, you know, the periodic outbreak of painful blisters on and around Little Ronnie Mehico).

We don't buy any of it, frankly. In fact, it's fairly clear to us that the Falcons' position is a deliberate attempt to take the sting out of a new SI article, which reports that Vick had an MRI due to lingering soreness in the shoulder.

Look, NFL teams lie about the health of their players. Especially the superstars. In Atlanta, Vick is the show -- and the team guards him like a bottle of booze at Betty Ford.

So if the word gets out that Vick's shoulder might be ailing, the team might as well paint a bull's-eye on the left shoulder of Mike's jerseys.

The other problem is that, if there's a lingering problem deep inside Vick's throwing shoulder, he might be even more inclined to pull the ball down and run. Even with a healthy shoulder, there's a concern that Vick (who's generously listed as six feet, no inches tall) is too short to spot receivers downfield. When, the theory goes, Vick gets enough daylight to spot an open wideout, he's also got enough room to run -- and run he does.

Why else would the team be suggesting that Peerless Price is the problem? Sure, everyone knows that Price is this decade's Alvin Harper. But every time that Vick pulls the ball down and runs is one less chance for Price to have a ball thrown his way.

The only exception to this trend is tight end Alge Crumpler, who gives Vick a target that he can see over the offensive and defensive linemen. Still, even Crumpler might see less balls this season if Vick is trying to protect a gimpy shoulder.

It's no small issue for the Falcons. If Vick's already limited passing skills are limited even further in 2005, defenses will have an easier time keeping Atlanta's offense in check.

And the Falcons can forget about a return to the Super Bowl in 2006.

I like Pro Football Talk for the reasons why they consistently blast Vick. They aren't afraid to say the things that media personalities would be fired for. How many announcers have publicly said on-air that Vick is a mediocre QB? None. There have been some "analysts" that have some disparaging comments from the studios, but most people won't say anything negative about Vick.

Of course I don't know anything else about this story, since this is the first I've heard of shoulder soreness since December, but they do have a point. The Falcons gain nothing if they admit that Vick is having shoulder problems. So to a skeptic and cynic, you can see their point of view.

As much as I hate to admit it, Vick is my personal nightmare when it comes to playing the Falcons. He may not be the best quarterback of all time. He may not have the strongest throwing arm or be the most talented. But, the one thing Vick has, and does, is the ability to make opposing teams look like a bunch of Pop-Warner middle school kids on a bad night. That being said, it still leaves me wondering about his health and how long he can continue to perform the stunts that have brought him into the limelight. Folks may not like him much, but like it or not, Vick is a force to be reckoned with. If he can stay healthy, he'll keep the Falcons in the chase for some time to come.

In terms of pure arm strength, Vick does have the strongest throwing arm I've ever seen. Only maybe his little brother Marcus may outmatch him in that category.

One of the issues I've constantly harped on is Vick needing to add muscle. But I think the main reason he doesn't want to do that is because he's afraid he'd lose too much speed. Sadly, it took a major knee injury to Randall Cunningham before he started to really develop into a reliable pocket QB. I think another drastic injury is going to have to happen to Vick before the same can happen to him. And basically Vick is a new Cunningham, but just better.

We need to get the right tools around him in order to get us to the next level. He of course needs to improve as well, but its going to be a slow process IMO, and it's not going to happen overnight. We benefited from a weak NFC last year, as I think your team did in 2003. If we had been in any of the AFC divisions, we would have had to struggle to get to 9-7, and possibly could have missed the playoffs in that conference.

The Panties still haven't found the right way to counter Vick. The secret is to attack him. The Panthers have the talent up front to do so, and it showed last year when you took us to the wire. Let's hope John Fox still doesn't get it this year for our sakes

I sure hope his shoulder is ok...so is the shoulder problem related to his hand being numb at the end of last season?...he had hammstring probs too...I hope he has healed fully, and will be full of magical moves once again. He's exciting to watch, for sure...and don't let anybody fool you, he can throw the ball as far as anyone, and can put lots of zing behind it as well.

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